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Last there in September. Would love it if the black beans have improved. Forgot to mention the Cubano.....kids usually get it and I steal a few bites. It's good though I find the bread lacking.
I really do like this place and you can't get better Cuban in these parts. Just have the reference point of Cuban food in South Florida in my head........

Hard to believe my last post for Cuba de Ayer was 12 years ago! Still go 3 or 4 times a year. I've noticed a bit of degradation over the last few years. Mojitos used to be awesome---now fairly weak and not as flavorful. Black beans not as smoky or porky. My standard, lechon asado, has seen less succulent pork and onions and less of a bright garlic/lemon flavor. Empanadas, fried plantains and cafe con leche steady and good.
Still, it is the best Cuban I've found in the area and like it enough to keep going. Looking forward to the best Cuban food on the next trip to Miami!

An excellent article in the July/August 2017 issue of Bethesda Magazine on Peter Chang, by David Hagedorn, focusing on the debut of Q but also with many details on his life starting in China to the present. I've not seen some of these details in the many past articles written about him. Don't see the article online yet so at this point you'll need to purchase the magazine.

Other than the Isabella triumvirate, Mussel Bar and SER are high quality. Rustico and Cafe Tirolo are good lunch places (also great beer selection at Rustico). Rus Uz has received good reviews for Russian/Uzbek but have not eaten there yet.

Would encourage you to read the first year of posts in this thread when Komi opened in 2005. In the early stages, Komi offered both a tasting menu and and a la carte. Tasting menu was priced at $89. At a 2% inflation over 11 years, maybe that's $115 or $120.....not an insane $185. But maybe the the biggest reason was that the food was actually really good and not "tepid" as respected reviewers described Shaw Bijou. See Rocks' review from October 2005 when he called Komi one of the very best and most important restaurants in the DC area.

Don: thanks for pointing out the per portion size at Kinship. Would also mention the same at Momofuku. Though it's $67/chicken. who eats a whole chicken? At costliest, 4 people eating a half a chicken each (a lot of food) is $34/per. And you get pancakes and good sauces on the side. The website mentions the meal is for 4-8 people so it may even be less per person. These prices seem like reasonable DC prices given the quality and source.

As someone with Miami roots, have been meaning to go to Joe's for quite awhile and finally made it last night.
Bottom line: it was a wonderful experience, with good food, gracious service and a relaxed atmosphere. Though a bit on the pricey side.
We had to try the stone crabs, of course. These were pretty small for the money ($7 a piece for "medium" (the smallest) claws). They were good but just not enough meat, given the scrawny size, for what we paid. My reference point, as with DanielK, is ordering them at seafood stores in Miami, where you get larger claws for less money. Still recommend ordering these if you don't have Florida roots, as the taste of this unique crab, pretty darn close to the taste of lobster in my book, is a special treat up in these parts.
The break basket was excellent, with jalapeno cornbread, Parker House-type rolls, a kind of onion roll similar to bialys and some tasty homemade crackers.
Our mains were the branzino and sea scallops with bacon jam, which was a combination of bacon and some kind of aioli. Went perfect with the scallops. The sides were the fried asparagus and crispy brussels sprouts which were very good. There were like 10 kinds of potatoes but we decided to be good to save some calories.
Definitely recommend the key lime pie for dessert as the traditional end of the meal. Excellent rendition here: perfect balance of sweet and tart with a nice crackery crust.
Joe's is pretty much a must try for those who have been to the Miami branch and want to re-live some of those memories. For others, it would seem to be in the higher tier of DC steak/seafood houses with some interesting twists that help it stand out.

On Saturday night our pizzas were as good as ever. The Norcia (salami, roasted peppers), our go-to, was great. The surprise was the Vongole (cockles, garlic, grana).....this I think was only the second time we got it. When we poured the liquor from the clam on to the pizza, the combination with the garlic and cheese was salty, delicious magic. The crust on both pizzas seemed especially tasty and well-charred on Saturday. And as was talked about earlier in the thread, you must try the porchetta with white beans and chard. Great combination but the pork is definitely the star---the garlicky flavor and that crispy skin is soooo good.

Thinking about Al Dente's comment as to why Jaleo doesn't get much love. Seems to me it's the classic place that's just taken for granted as it trudges along providing excellent food and decent value without a lot of press or flashiness. This thread was started 10 years ago! How many restaurants provide this kind of quality for this long? Impressive.
I've been there approaching 10 times and have never had a meal I did not enjoy. And it seems most of the reviews on this thread also give positive reviews.
Like Jose Andres or not, he and his empire are doing all the right things with Jaleo. I'm sure he's happy with his "boring" success. And I like that it's always there for a nice meal when I don't want to seek out the restaurant du jour.

I love, love, love pilsners and kolsches in the heat of a DC summer. And when it comes to pilsners, really like this beer, which has only become available this year in the DC area. What puts it a cut above for me is a bit of a hoppy character driven by the use of German Saphir hops. So refreshing and you can drink it with pretty much any food. Pivo has a Beer Advocate score of 90 and is 3rd ranked for pilsners with 100 or more reviews (behind only Rothaus Pils from Germany and Victory Pils from PA).
The description from Firestone's website:
Everything we love about classic German Pilsner with a hoppy Bohemian twist. Pils is a bright straw colored lager beer with playful carbonation topped with beautiful white foam lace. Delicate lightly toasted malt flavors underscore noble German hop character. Hallertau-grown Magnum hops deliver the lupulin foundation while generous amounts of Spalter Select hops bring floral aromatic and spicy herbal notes. As a twist on the traditional Pils, we dry hop with German Saphir for a touch of bergamot zest and lemongrass. A refreshing, light-bodied and hop-driven Pils.
Never heard of "lupulin" before. Looked it up.....it's the active ingredient in hops that helps to provide the aroma and flavor of beer.
I'd be remiss to not say that I'm a big fan of Firestone Walker. Reviews of Double Jack and Stickee Monkee are on the VBT. Also think that Wookey Jack and Union Jack are excellent brews. All of these beers have ratings of greater than 90 on BA.
Cheers!

Hung out here during the downpour yesterday. It's a fun space and I'm a sucker for fusion food. Thought everything was good to excellent.
Ceviche Clasico- fish was very fresh, mixed with sweet potatoes and little corn-nut like thingies. Just a little bit of spice. Very good.
Lucky Siu Mai- three types of dumplings (4 of each), including pork/shrimp (dorado), scallop (concha) and chicken (pollo). All good though the Dorado was a standout with the peanut crunch and topped with a fried quail egg.
Sí¡nguche de Chancho Nipí³n- pork belly tucked into a lightly fried bun. Combination with sauce and a bit of daikon makes this really stellar. Seems a bit overpriced at one bun for $8.
California Roll- potato is the base instead of rice. Topped with crab salad and tobiko with really tasty, spicy sauce on the side. Thought this was a little boring but really loved that sauce.
Concolí³n- first of two noodle/rice dishes, both must gets. This dish was prepared table side in a hot bowl. Combination of pork belly, chicken, chinese sausage, bok choy, shiitake mushrooms (really juicy and delicious) and crispy fried rice. A lot going on with all these tastes. Can't decide it it's more like a Chinese version of bibimbap or a riff on Chinese sticky rice. In any event, if you like this kind of thing, you'll find it delicious.
Aeropuerto- the menu says there are 20 vegetables. Everything is chopped up fine along with some rice and thin noodles. It's a really delicious mash-up when combined with a tasty soy-based sauce.
Kudos to Jose Andres for a unique concept. Only negative is the price. It seems that the price for a proper meal here is $50-$60 per person and that's without drinks and dessert.

Thought this was a really well done article by Todd Kliman on some of the intricacies and challenges of Ferhat's business, especially in the Shaw neighborhood.
Best of luck to Ferhat in working through everything and in succeeding in tough circumstances. Hopefully his passion and quality of food will be triumphant.

I find the mistake with the beer to be fascinating. It seems hard to believe that a restaurant run by such veterans would make a mistake like this. Understanding this type of error cannot really be made with wine, it seems to indicate a lack of understanding (lack of care?) regarding the beer list. I can't think of a time I've been given the wrong draft beer at any establishment in the area for as long as I can remember.